You've put a lot into your home. Maybe it's time your home paid you back.

A federally-insured reverse mortgage - FHA's Home Equity Conversion Mortgage - could be the answer. A reverse mortgage is a loan against your home that requires no repayment as long as you're living there. With a reverse mortgage you don't pay the bank every month, the bank pays you.

Federally-insured reverse mortgages guarantee that payments to homeowners will continue if the lender goes out of business and insures that lenders will get their money back. Private reverse mortgages lack these guarantees.

Did you know that the AARP receives more calls about reverse mortgages than about any other subject, including Social Security and Medicare? Half the seniors in an AARP survey had never heard of a reverse mortgage, but 84 percent wanted to remain in their homes for as long as possible.

If you are a homeowner over the age of 62 with little or no mortgage debt you may qualify. The home must be your principle residence. Loan amounts are based on your age, the expected interest rate and the "adjusted property value."

Receive cash at closing, a line of credit, monthly payments, or any combination you prefer. You may change payment plans as many times as you wish, unless you take the full amount payable as a lump sum at closing. Under the tenure plan you receive monthly payments for as long as you live in the home, even if you live to be 125.

The FHA HECM program has a growing credit line option where your available credit grows larger by a given rate. It keeps growing for as long as there is any credit left, that is, until you withdraw all your remaining credit. The money is yours to spend on whatever you choose regardless of the payment plan you select.

Social Security and Medicare are not affected, and there are no income, employment, or medical requirements. Counseling from a HUD-approved counseling agency is required and is free of charge.

Loans become due and payable when the borrower permanently moves or sells or upon settlement of the borrower's estate. Whatever equity is left will belong to the borrower or the estate. Heirs are fully protected against claims should the loan balance exceed property value. Because the loan is federally insured, under no circumstances will the borrower or the estate be charged more than the net sale proceeds from the sale of the house.

George R. Stewart at Wells Fargo Reverse Mortgage, 1-866-238-4539, provided this information.